Chapter 273: ... and still bear to walk away?
Adelyn looked at the little girl.
The way those big eyes shimmered beneath the light —yet stubbornly refused to let even a single tear fall —didn’t escape her notice.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward the neatly arranged collection of hair clips and bands resting inside the velvet box.
Every single one of them looked carefully chosen.
As though, when buying them, someone had eagerly looked forward to seeing Eira wearing them.
"Then shouldn’t you be wearing them more often?" Adelyn asked softly, looking back at Eira.
Little Eira pouted slightly before glancing toward the accessory box.
"Eira always wanted to wear them ..." she admitted quietly, her voice merely a whisper"... but Eira was scared to use them."
Adelyn looked at her in confusion.
When the little girl met her eyes again, she softly explained,
"These are the only gifts Eira has from Mama. Eira was scared of losing them."
She had treasured them all these years.
She had wanted to wear them countless times.
But every time she remembered that these were the only gifts her mother had ever left her...
She simply wanted to keep them safe. So that she wouldn’t lose them the way she lost her mother.
Adelyn understood that feeling all too well.
Hearing the little girl express it so earnestly, she couldn’t help but gently cup her cheeks.
The little girl was too young to feel so much.
"Baby ..." she said softly, "you shouldn’t think that way."
Eira blinked.
Adelyn slowly crouched down until she was at eye level with her before patiently explaining.
She gently gestured toward the velvet box and said, "These hair clips and hair bands are all so pretty. Treasuring them doesn’t mean taking away the very purpose they were bought for. After all, they were bought so you could wear them. Your mama wanted to see you wearing them."
She looked at her and met her eyes again, her hand holding hers gently. "Don’t you think that by never using them, you’re only letting them go to waste?"
The little girl paused to think seriously.
After a second —
"But ..." she mumbled softly, "... they’re the only gifts Eira ever received from Mama."
Adelyn smiled gently. "Isn’t that an even better reason to use them?"
"I’m sure your mama wanted you to wear them and look beautiful."
"But ..." Eira hesitated again. "What if Eira breaks them ... or loses them?" She looked at Adelyn with uncertainty. "Will you not blame Eira then?"
Adelyn froze for just a brief second.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Then ...
She remembered.
To Eira ...
She was Mama.
From the little girl’s perspective, asking her this was perfectly natural.
It had simply caught Adelyn off guard for a moment.
"Baby ..." she spoke gently. "People who truly love and care about you don’t blame you for small, trivial mistakes. They’ll only find more reasons to love you."
"Your mama wouldn’t be any different. As long as you want to wear them..."
"...then wear them."
"And if you lose them ..." She smiled warmly before lightly pinching the girl’s cheek. "I’ll buy you even more."
To Adelyn, replacing a few hair accessories wasn’t something worth worrying about. So she made that promise without hesitation.
As for speaking on behalf of that unknown woman —
She believed if she really loved the girl, she wouldn’t mind it either. After all, how are a few hair accessories worth more than the girl’s happiness.
"Really, Mama?" Eira’s eyes instantly widened with excitement. "Are you really going to take Eira shopping?"
Adelyn smiled and nodded.
"Of course. I’ll take you out for shopping very soon."
The little girl’s entire face lit up.
Before, she had been too afraid to lose the only things her mother had left behind.
But now ...
Her mama was with her.
If anything happened ...
Her mama would simply buy her new ones.
Adelyn watched the little girl smile so brightly.
Then, almost unconsciously, her eyes drifted back toward the velvet box filled with hair accessories.
She couldn’t help but wonder—
How could someone love a child so much ...
... and still bear to walk away?
If Eira’s biological mother had truly prepared all of these things for her ...
Could she really have abandoned her?
Adelyn didn’t know.
And she knew she probably shouldn’t be so eager to find the answer either.
The farther she stayed from the complicated parts of their lives, the better it would be for everyone.
But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious.
Because she certainly was.
"Ms. Grace."
Mabel’s voice gently pulled Adelyn out of her thoughts.
She turned toward the doorway, and saw Mabel standing there respectfully.
"Yes?"
"Breakfast is ready and has already been served in the dining room. Sir is waiting for both of you."
Adelyn immediately nodded. "Oh ... we’re done here. We’ll head downstairs for the breakfast right away."
With that, she turned back toward the little girl.
Helping Eira down from her chair, she straightened up before extending her hand with a smile.
"Shall we?"
Eira slipped her tiny hand into Adelyn’s without a moment’s hesitation.
Together, the two of them headed downstairs.
———————————————————
Dylan had already been waiting for them.
The moment he saw them walking into the dining room, he stood up and walked over, pulling out a chair for them.
Adelyn paused.
Her eyes instinctively swept across the dining table.
The seating arrangement had changed. The difference was obvious enough to catch her attention immediately.
She glanced toward Dylan, unsure whether she should ask him about it.
But she wasn’t quite certain how to bring it up.
Dylan noticed the hesitation on her face. Raising an eyebrow, he gave her the same opening he always did.
"You want to ask something?" he asked.
Adelyn blinked.
Was it really that obvious?
She swallowed lightly before giving a small nod and glancing toward the chairs again.
"Did you change the seating arrangement?"
Dylan briefly looked toward the dining table before giving a small hum.
"Yes. I asked them to change it."
He paused.
Then, looking directly into her eyes, he added calmly,
"Eira can sit beside you. But ... you should sit beside me."
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